A file photo of the Senate. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Troika-Plus session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) was held on Monday and parliamentary representatives from Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cambodia, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Pakistan and Syria were urged to promote integrated efforts to build a peaceful, prosperous and progressive Asia in order to meet future challenges.
The one-day conference was held in Islamabad on the invitation of the APA’s incumbent president and Senate chairman Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari. Participants reviewed developments at the global and regional levels and to address the requirements for the establishment of an Asian Parliament and a four-point Islamabad communiqué was issued at the close of the conference, outlining efforts for greater integration in the region.
“I strongly urge APA member countries to put in place a mechanism, backed by sound legal instruments, to safeguard our people from violence and terrorism,” said APA President and Senate Chairman Nayyar Hussain Bokhari in his concluding session. “It is my firm belief that we can achieve more together than we can individually since cooperation reduces the space for unilateral action, signifying harmony, tolerance and respect for diversity.”
Delegates from Afghanistan and Syria stressed the importance of interaction between states in the region, adding that the method of such interaction must be revised.
The member countries in the joint communiqué supported joint initiatives to combat terrorism and organised crime, violence and extremism, illicit drug trafficking, human and money laundering.
Participants at the meeting also took note of ‘considerable and growing trends of formation and functioning of inter-governmental organisations in Asia’, including Asean, Saarc, Escap, ECO, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence in Asia (CICA), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) and the International Conference of Asia Political Parties(ICAPP).
The members added that they are determined to promote the oversight, legislative, deliberative and consultative functions of parliaments.
The APA also decided to identify priority areas for further convergence and capacity-building among Asian parliaments with a view to increase APA influence on the processes of law-making and policy-making in Asia.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 28th, 2014.
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the meeting should have placed the objectives placed in the last session and the achievements. in case of shortfall there should be resolve / steps to achieve the goals.